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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 912
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3252
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC
EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATUS OF PROBATE COURT SYSTEM
EMPLOYEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (g) of section 45a-8a of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2023): 3
(g) Each administrative judge for a Regional Children's Probate 4
Court may, if authorized by the Probate Court Budget Committee 5
under section 45a-85, employ such persons as may be required for the 6
efficient operation of the Regional Children's Probate Court. Such 7
employees shall be employees of the Regional Children's Probate 8
Court and shall be entitled to the benefits of Probate Court employees 9
under this chapter. Such employees shall not be deemed to be state 10
employees, except for purposes of chapter 68. 11
Sec. 2. Section 45a-21 of the general statutes is repealed and the 12
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2023): 13 Raised Bill No. 912
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(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, Probate 14
Court employees shall not be deemed state employees and shall serve 15
at the pleasure of the judge of the court of probate in which they are 16
employed. 17
(b) On and after October 1, 2023, Probate Court employees shall be 18
deemed state employees for the purpose of chapter 68 and shall have 19
the right to bargain collectively and shall have such other rights and 20
obligations incident thereto as are created by chapter 68. Should such 21
employees choose not to bargain collectively, such employees shall 22
remain at-will employees in accordance with subsection (a) of this 23
section. 24
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 5-270 of the general statutes is 25
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 26
October 1, 2023): 27
(a) "Employer" means the state of Connecticut, its executive and 28
judicial branches, including, without limitation, any board, 29
department, commission, institution, or agency of such branches or 30
any appropriate unit thereof and any board of trustees of a state-31
owned or supported college or university and branches thereof, public 32
and quasi-public state corporation, or authority established by state 33
law, the Probate Courts or any person or persons designated by the 34
employer to act in its interest in dealing with employees, but shall not 35
include the State Board of Labor Relations or the State Board of 36
Mediation and Arbitration. 37
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 5-278 of the general statutes is 38
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 39
October 1, 2023): 40
(a) When an employee organization has been designated, in 41
accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, as 42
amended by this act, as the exclusive representative of employees in an 43
appropriate unit, the employer shall be represented in collective 44 Raised Bill No. 912
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bargaining with such employee organization in the following manner: 45
(1) In the case of an executive branch employer, including the Division 46
of Criminal Justice, by the chief executive officer whether elected or 47
appointed, or [his] the chief executive officer's designated 48
representative; who shall maintain a close liaison with the legislature 49
relative to the negotiations and the potential fiscal ramifications of any 50
proposed settlement; (2) in the case of a judicial branch employer, by 51
the Chief Court Administrator or [his] the Chief Court Administrator's 52
designated representative; [and] (3) in the case of each segment of the 53
system of higher education, the faculty and professional employees 54
shall negotiate with their own board of trustees or its designated 55
representative; and (4) in the case of a Probate Court employer, by the 56
Probate Court Administrator or the Probate Court Administrator's 57
designated representative. 58
Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 5-275 of the general statutes is 59
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 60
October 1, 2023): 61
(b) The board shall determine the appropriateness of a unit which 62
shall be the public employer unit or a subdivision thereof. In 63
determining the appropriateness of the unit, the board shall: (1) Take 64
into consideration, but shall not limit consideration to, the following: 65
(A) Public employees must have an identifiable community of interest, 66
and (B) the effects of overfragmentation; (2) not decide that any unit is 67
appropriate if (A) such unit includes both professional and 68
nonprofessional employees, unless a majority of such professional 69
employees vote for inclusion in such unit, or (B) such unit includes 70
both Department of Correction employees at or above the level of 71
lieutenant and Department of Correction employees below the level of 72
lieutenant; (3) take into consideration that when the state is the 73
employer, it will be bargaining on a state-wide basis unless issues 74
involve working conditions peculiar to a given governmental 75
employment locale; (4) permit the faculties of (A) The University of 76
Connecticut, (B) the Connecticut State University System, and (C) the 77 Raised Bill No. 912
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Technical Education and Career System to each comprise a separate 78
unit, which in each case shall have the right to bargain collectively 79
with their respective boards of trustees or their designated 80
representatives; [and] (5) permit the community college faculty and the 81
technical college faculty as they existed prior to July 1, 1992, to 82
continue to comprise separate units, which in each case shall have the 83
right to bargain collectively with its board of trustees or its designated 84
representative, [. Nonfaculty] provided nonfaculty professional staff of 85
[the above] such institutions may by mutual agreement be included in 86
such bargaining units, or they may form a separate bargaining unit of 87
their own; and (6) permit employees of the Probate Court to form not 88
more than two separate bargaining units, one nonprofessional and one 89
professional. This section shall not be deemed to prohibit multiunit 90
bargaining. 91
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2023 45a-8a(g)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 45a-21
Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 5-270(a)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 5-278(a)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2023 5-275(b)
LAB Joint Favorable